Short Form Review for Fuji FinePix 2650 Posted!
04:34 EST - Fuji's been carving out a niche for themselves in the low-cost camera market.
Their specialty has become low-cost camera that aren't low on features or image quality, and the Fuji FinePix 2650 is one of the latest in that lineup. A follow-on to the enormously successful 2600 model,...
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Philips gets back in the digicam business
05:52 EST - European consumer electronics giant Philips is to return to the digital camera arena after a long absence, we hear from our friends at LetsGoDigital.nl.
The company sold four digital camera models, first announced in 1997 and 1998. All four were actually manufactured by Ricoh; the Philips ESP 2 being a rebadged Ricoh RDC-300 and the ESP 80 being a rebadged...
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MacBibble gets a major overhaul
04:54 EST - Eric Hyman, the man behind Bibble - a superb RAW file processor available for both Mac and Windows - has released a new version of the program for those on Apple computers, we hear.
MacBibble 3.0 is a major update, and supports MacOS 9 and OS X. Full details of the changes and new features can be found here, but in brief: Fully Multithreaded and G4 optimized - Eric claims that MacBibble...
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Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Short Form Review for Konica KD-400Z Posted!
11:28 EST - This one has been a long time coming - Konica has already announced a five megapixel version of this camera, although it appears that the four megapixel model I reviewed will remain in the marketplace for some time yet.
The reason I persevered in completing this review is that I felt the Konica KD-400Z was an interesting camera - to the best of my knowledge, the first non-Sony digicam to support Memory Stick media. (The...
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Tuesday, January 28, 2003

Intel's kid-friendly digital camcorder makes a comeback
16:30 EST - A press release today from Atlanta-based Digital Blue, a subsidiary of Prime Entertainment, caught our eye because the company has resurrected a line of products created by Intel that aimed to entertain kids whilst helping them learn about computers and technology.
Intel sold the products through its "Connected Products Division", which was supposed to boost demand for its core line of computer processor chips - but was given the chop in October 2001 as the company...
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Maha extends Lithium rechargeable battery line
00:24 EST - We told you last May that Maha Energy Corp., which sells its products under the PowerEx brand name, had introduced a line of batteries equivalent to the proprietary models used by many cameras.
At the time, four batteries were announced ranging in cost from $30 to $40, and suitable for use in the Canon EOS D30, EOS D60, PowerShot G1, PowerShot G2, PowerShot Pro90, PowerShot S100, PowerShot S110,...
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Tuesday, January 21, 2003

Fuji announces CCD dynamic range breakthrough!(UPDATED)
21:27 EST - Announcing their "Fourth-Generation" Super CCD technology, Fuji has revealed what looks like a breakthrough in dynamic range for CCD sensors. The new approach cleverly trades off resolution for dramatically improved dynamic range, offering as much as a 400% improvement in highlight "headroom" relative to conventional technologies.
With each new generation of CCDs that hit the market, digital imaging gets closer and closer to matching film on the basis of resolution. One area where film has had a decisive advantage for some time...
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Up close with SanDisk's Digital Photo Viewer
01:54 EST - We told you about SanDisk's new Digital Photo Viewer device on January 10th, but at the time we didn't have any photos of the unit.
Whilst we were on the CES show floor, though, we stopped by the CES booth to take a look for ourselves. A summary of the specs can be found in the previous news item, but in brief the SanDisk Digital...
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CompactFlash shows its versatility at CES
00:32 EST - Continuing with our coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show, we took a look at the CompactFlash Association's booth.
Two newly announced products stood out from the crowd of CompactFlash card products on display. The first is a bit of an oddity - SanDisk's newly announced Connect line of CompactFlash cards are available...
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Twelve (!) new Polaroid digicams at CES
17:03 EST - Spectra Merchandising International, the Chicago-based importer which has the rights to the Polaroid brandname for digital camera products, gets the record for most simultaneous digital camera announcements at CES with a whopping twelve new cameras.
The twelve cameras break down into three separate families - three are additions to the Cool-iCam series, four make up a new "iON" camera line, and the remainder fill out the existing lineup of PhotoMAX...
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Imaging Resource / Digital Outback Sharpening Contest
12:41 EST - In cooperation with our friends at the Digital Outback Photo website, we're currently running a contest in which you can win a copy of Cerious Software's excellent image management utility, ThumbsPlus.
Full details are on the Digital Outback Photo website, but in brief the challenge is to sharpen a 16-bit TIFF crop from an EOS-1Ds image to your liking. Email your method and the program(s) used to Digital...
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We have a winner!
12:21 EST - We tabulated the results from our recent site survey, tossed in a random-number function from Excel, and electronically drew a winner. And he is ... (a little drum roll, please) ... Gary Crabtree, of Bakersfield, CA! For the sake of a few minutes answering the survey questions, Gary will be the proud owner of a brand new Olympus C-4000 Zoom camera! (One of the best bargains for an "enthusiast" camera currently on the market, for those among us who'll have to shell out our own cash for our next camera.) Congratulations, Gary, and thanks to everyone else who answered our survey and entered the sweepstakes. Stay tuned for more surveys/sweepstakes in the future!

Thursday, January 16, 2003

BenQ announces two new digicams
20:06 EST - New choices at both the middle and high end of BenQ's digital camera lineup were unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Benq DC2300 (described in the press release at the end of this news item) slots in between the CMOS-based 1.3 megapixel DC1500, and the CCD-based 3.3 megapixel DC3310. The new camera features a CCD...
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Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Much better Pro 14n sample!
21:16 EST - Kodak's Jay Kelbley just sent me a new sample image from the Pro 14n, showing the effect of varying amounts of noise suppression. The new photo is *much* better than previous ones, although there's still a lot of noise suppression applied, even at the minimum setting.
After the widespread dismay that was expressed over the effects of the heavy-handed noise suppression seen in the first sample photos from Kodak's forthcoming Pro 14n full-frame digital SLR, Kodak's Jay...
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Recharge your camera - and get some exercise at the same time
20:14 EST - Andus Technologies Inc.was showing what has to have been one of the more unusual ideas at the Consumer Electronics Show...
Their "ReCHARGE" device aims to solve the problem of running out of battery power just when you need it most - when you're far from home. Originally designed for cell phone use (but versions for digital...
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Trek shows "World's Smallest Digital Still Camera"
16:33 EST - Trekstor USA, Inc., the American branch of Singaporean electronics company Trek 2000 International Ltd., exhibited a new digital still camera at CES which it claims to be the world's smallest.
At 70 x 22.5 x 9.6mm, the ThumbDrive camera is certainly small - although note that this size is only when the camera is being used as a tethered webcam. For use as a portable still / video camera, a...
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Fuji Japan posts teaser for next-gen CCD
14:27 EST - The Japanese digicam market seems to have a great affinity for "teasers" that are posted on websites some days or weeks before a new product launches, and IR reader "Reflecx" today noticed that Fuji has posted one such teaser on its Japanese website.
The information is scarce, but obviously hints at a new fourth-generation SuperCCD image sensor to be unveiled sometime in 2003. The teaser shows a number of brief slides detailing past sensor achievements,...
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Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Argus shows new digicams aplenty
23:17 EST - Argus Camera, an American company that begin life with its "Model A" camera manufactured in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1936, showed numerous new or recently announced digicams at CES.
Starting with the most impressive of the company's announcements, we looked at the Argus DC-3810. This is a 5 megapixel (2560 x 1920) digital camera, with a fairly sturdy - if rather generic looking -...
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IR Sweepstakes over; stay tuned for the winner
16:49 EST - We've been running a digital camera sweepstakes on the site recently, in which we offered an Olympus C-4000 Zoom digital camera to one lucky person who filled out a survey.

The survey / sweepstakes is now over. Stay tuned and we'll announce the winner of the camera in the next few days, as soon as we hear back from them, confirming their address, etc. And stay tuned for other survey/sweepstakes in the near future!

Ofoto hires new president
16:41 EST - Ofoto, Kodak's wholly-owned online photofinishing subsidiary, has announced that it's hired Mark Blecher as its new president.
I have to say that this one came as a bit of a surprise to me, since as far as I knew, Ofoto was doing just fine, businesswise. They're clearly one of the leaders in the online photofinishing space, and...
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Vivitar announces its first 4mpix digicam
15:58 EST - California-based Vivitar Corp. showed its first 4-megapixel digital camera at the Consumer Electronics Show.
The Vivitar ViviCam 3825 (actually announced on December 11th, but being shown in public for the first time) couples its 1/1.8" CCD imager with a 3x optical zoom lens, 1.6" LCD display, SD / MMC storage...
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Japanese site posts DCS Pro 14n samples
15:17 EST - The Japanese Illusion Inc. website has posted a number of new sample photos from a development model of Kodak's upcoming DCS Pro 14n digital camera.
The images, apparently taken by photographer Hironobu Mochizuki, show off the camera better than the images we've seen thus far. There's a direct comparison with the Canon EOS-1Ds for some of the photos...
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Kodak pushes Pro 14n delivery another month, posts sample images
00:51 EST - Kodak today announced a further delay of one month in the availability of their Pro 14n full-frame D-SLR, to "mid-February"...
Photographers lusting for a full-frame, multi-megapixel digital SLR at an "affordable" price will have to wait just a little longer now, with Kodak's announcement today that they're pushing...
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PQI shows xD-Picture Card reader
00:24 EST - Since Olympus and Fuji announced the xD-Picture Card flash memory format at the end of July, we've seen quite a few cameras announced by both companies using the tiny cards.
We've not seen much in the way of third-party accessories though - but that looks set to change soon. Taiwanese company Power Quotient International Co. Ltd. attended the CES show in Las Vegas, and showed...
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Samsung Introduces Versatile Gadget Camcorder
15:07 EST - LAS VEGAS -- Samsung introced the ITCAM-7 Gadget camcorder here at the Consumer Electronics Show. The Gadget camcorder measures 2.48x1.32x4.06-inches, features a 2-GB HDD that stores over 30 hours of MP3s, thousands of digital still pictures or up to 1.5 hours of MPEG-4 video. The unit's exclusive technology compresses video with a resolution of 640x480 at 30 frames per second ensuring a great balance between video performance, and recording time.
In addition to working as a camcorder, DSC and MP3 player, the Gadget features a USB 2.0 port and a Memory Stick slot. The unit can also be used as a voice recorder. The Gadget is the recipient of an...
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Lexar Media Announces JumpDrive 2.0 Pro
20:52 EST - LAS VEGAS -- Lexar Media, Inc. has announced increases in both capacity and speed to its JumpDrive 2.0 Pro. Both 512-MB and 1-GB capacities will be added to the current 256-MB JumpDrive and the entire line will be upgraded to a 40x speed rating from the previous 24x.
"These offerings showcase our industry leading technology which allows us to excel in products requiring high speed and capacity," said Doug Kellam, vice president of worldwide marketing, Lexar Media....
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Lexar Media Expands Memory Stick Capacity to 256-MB
20:27 EST - LAS VEGAS -- Lexar Media Inc. said it plans to manufacture Memory Sticks with a Memory Select Function that increases the capacity of a single Memory Stick to 256-MB. Memory Stick with Memory Select Function doubles the previous capacity of standard Memory Stick by allowing the user to toggle between two 128-MB flash memory units, using a switch located on the back of the media.
"Lexar Media is pleased to bring this new enhancement to the highly successful Memory Stick format," said Eric Stang, president and CEO of Lexar Media. "Our new Memory Stick with the select function delivers...
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SanDisk, Sony Develop New Memory Stick Pro Format
18:51 EST - LAS VEGAS -- SanDisk Corpo. and Sony Corp. today announced they have developed the Memory Stick Pro format, a new generation of IC recording media that features high capacity, high-speed data transfer, high-level security and other future expandability. The companies said the new format makes it possible for optimized devices to reach new levels of performance, such as real-time recording of high-resolution moving images and data loss prevention in the event of accidental removal of the media during file recording.
Nelson Chan, senior vice president and general manager of SanDisk's retail business unit, said, "SanDisk and Sony share an exciting vision for the Memory Stick Pro. SanDisk has contributed its expertise...
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SanDisk Introduces Memory Stick Pro
18:39 EST - LAS VEGAS -- SanDisk Corp. today introduced the SanDisk Memory Stick Pro, a new Memory Stick form that incorporates a variety of advanced capabilities. The new format, which was jointly developed by Sony and SanDisk, includes additional features to secure personal content and data loss prevention in the event of accidental removal of the card during file recording.
Memory Stick Pro cards initially will feature capacities up to one gigabyte. They will be a metallic gold color but are otherwise identical in physical size and shape to the current generation of purple...
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SanDisk Introduces a Digital Photo Viewer for TV
18:27 EST - LAS VEGAS -- SanDisk Corporation introduced its $79 Digital Photo Viewer at the Consumer Electronics Show here today. The device accepts camera memory cards and connects to television sets or projectors to display JPEGs stored on the cards.
The SanDisk DPV allows consumers to remove the storage card directly from their digital camera, plug it into the photo viewer and instantly view images on their TV. Its media slots accept CompactFlash,...
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SanDisk Introduces Combo Wi-Fi/Memory Cards
18:17 EST - LAS VEGAS -- SanDisk Corporation today introduced the SanDisk Connect line of 802.11b wireless cards at the Consumer Electronics Show here. The cards are the first, the company said, to include both memory and wireless communications technology.
The Connect product line includes four products: dual-function 128-MB CompactFlash and 256-MB SD cards that combine Wi-Fi and flash memory as well as single-function CF and SD cards with Wi-Fi connectivity....
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PNY Introduces Optima CompactFlash with 21x Transfer Rate
18:06 EST - PNY announced a new high-end Optima CompactFlash card with a 21x data transfer rate. The Type I cards will be available in 128-MB, 256-MB and 512-MB storage capacities later this quarter, the company said.
"The new PNY Optima CompactFlash cards are ideal for serious photographers who want to capture fast moving subjects, so they never miss another shot," said Paul Wasek, senior marketing manager for flash...
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Casio adds a zoom to its tiny Exilim cameras
16:15 EST - New Jersey-based Casio Inc. has announced a new digital camera at CES which addresses the one major drawback of its existing Exilim credit-card digital cameras.
The new Exilim Zoom EX-Z3, as the name suggests, incorporates a zoom lens. This looks to be the same lens used in Pentax's just-announced Optio S digital camera, or a very similar design - and is noteable...
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Olympus announces two new digicams, with Stylish "Stylus" look
14:02 EST - Olympus America has today announced two new digital cameras at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
I got a look at these in person yesterday, and have to say they're very appealing. Small, very sleek and smooth case design, fit the hand and pocket well. Their user interface and feature set seem pretty...
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Minolta updates the DiMAGE F100 to 5 megapixels!
13:56 EST - Minolta Corp. yesterday showed an update to its DiMAGE F100 digital camera at the "Digital Experience" press event preceding this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
The DiMAGE F300 features a similar design to the F100, but with a 5 megapixel CCD imager. Minolta has provided us with the following backgrounder document detailing the new camera. Full specifications...
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Thursday, January 9, 2003

Mike and Dave at CES; coverage commencing soon!
17:35 EST - Things have not been going quite to plan over the last day or two...
First, Mike had to reformat his laptop moments before leaving for CES when it became utterly unstable, and then his airline (whom we shall tactfully leave nameless) trapped him at Atlanta airport for more...
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Coinstar, PhotoWorks Launch Digital Photo Print Service
12:44 EST - Coinstar and PhotoWorks Kiosks today announced the launch of a pilot program to provide high-quality prints and photo CDs to digital camera users. The six-month pilot is scheduled to begin this month in approximately 50 supermarkets in Reno, Nev., Charlotte, N.C., and Seattle.
Customers can bring a digital memory card or CD to the Coinstar Center to view the images on a touchscreen interface, select images for printing and complete a credit card order. The companies said the...
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The suite targets digicam owners, giving them tools to capture, organize, enhance, and share digital media. Users can create up to 99 multimedia slideshows on one disc complete with transitions, titles,...
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Pentax Optio S: A minty-fresh look at the word "ultracompact" ;)
10:00 EST - Colorado-based Pentax Corp. has today announced a tiny new Optio digital camera model which will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Pentax Optio S features a 3.2 megapixel CCD imager and 3x optical zoom lens in a package that the company says will "fit into an empty Altoids® tin" - and they've got a press photo to prove it!...
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Konica, Minolta Announce Merger
12:27 EST - Konica and Minolta have jointly released a letter of intent to merge "the management of both companies based on stock swaps through [a] spirit of equality." Taking "the creation of new value" as its guiding philosophy, the new Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. begins life with sales of $9.2 billion and almost 39,000 workers, 4,000 of whom are expected to be laid off. The full text of the release follows....
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Tuesday, January 7, 2003

Bellamax's ezFix Pro Available at ImageStation.com
23:54 EST - Bellamax today announced it will provide ezFix Pro digital photo enhancement for $2.99 an image to members of Sony's ImageStation online photofinishing Web site.
Bellamax professionals enhance photos by addressing common problems including red eye, exposure, color and sharpness, as well as provide professional portrait retouch techniques to make faces look their...
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Epson Adds CD Printing Capabilities to Stylus Photo 960
23:48 EST - Epson America today announced a kit for its Stylus Photo 960 to print directly on printable CDs or DVDs placed in a tray that slides through the printer's straight through paper path.
The feature will be included with the printer in the box in February. Current Stylus Photo 960 owners can redeem a coupon to receive a free CD kit to upgrade their printer. The upgrade kit contains a CD...
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EOS D60: Discontinued, or just hard to get hold of?
19:41 EST - Mike's battling to get ready to run out the door to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tomorrow, but spotted this item on another site and wanted to comment...
Our friends at the Digital Photography Review website are reporting that Canon may be about to stop selling the EOS D60 digital camera. According to Phil, his readers have been told by dealers that the...
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Macworld Expo -- Apple Lives the iLife(UPDATED)
16:52 EST - SAN FRANCISCO -- The snowball Apple started rolling two years ago with the introduction of the digital hub became an avalanche of new product introductions at Macworld Expo here today.
See our complete report with photos, but here are the highlights of today's coverage: iLIFE Fueled by the momentum of 5.2 million active users of OS X version 10.2, aka Jaguar, Apple unveiled a revamped...
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Toshiba cuts PDR-T20 pricing
17:56 EST - Toshiba America has today announced a price cut on its PDR-T20 touch-screen digital camera.
First announced in the USA back in June, the PDR-T20 started shipping shortly afterwards at a price of $399. With today's announcement, the camera gets a 25% price-cut to $299. The PDR-T20 features a...
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Microdrive gets a major capacity boost
04:44 EST - We've been expecting for a while to see a larger-capacity version of the Microdrive make an appearance, and in the run up to the Consumer Electronics Show we've now seen that expectation become a reality.
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has announced that the Microdrive will be getting a four-fold boost from the 1GB drives that began shipping in September 2000. Slated for availability in Fall 2003,...
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Beware: That digicam steal might be a literal one!
18:40 EST - A press release from Nikon Germany describes the theft of three pallets of digital cameras from a warehouse on the afternoon of December 21st.
Forwarded to us by our friends at digitalkamera.de, the press release notes that 192 D100 digital SLRs and 100 Coolpix 2500 digital cameras were stolen. Unfortunately, the serial numbers are only known...
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Thursday, January 2, 2003

2003 CES 'Innovations' announced
19:36 EST - The Consumer Electronics Association has now announced the results of an award program that it has held for the last 7 years alongside the annual Consumer Electronics Show.
Thirty "prominent industry experts" with advisory help from the Industrial Designers Society of America evaluated products on criteria including "value to user, aesthetics, contributions to the quality...
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